A Research of Pedestrian Evacuation Simulation for BRT Station based on Fine Grid Method

BRT, short for Bus Rapid Transit System. has been an important choice for large and medium-sized cities to reduce the traffic congestion. Since BRT travel can greatly reduce the bus travel time of passengers, it attracts a large portion public bus trips, making BRT station a centralized area with a high density of passengers for public transport. Under the circumstances, accidents such as serious crowd, panic, trample and even casualties may occur in BRT station. It is of great significance to propose an evacuation model for BRT station to provide guidance and advices for evacuation in BRT station. First, by analysing existed computer evacuation simulation models, we propose a new simulation model, in which tine grid is used to model the BRT station and conflict resolution mechanisms and pedestrian movement rules are incorporated. Then, we develop a computer-programming evacuation simulation platform based on the evacuation simulation model. By applying it to Gangding station of Guangzhou BRT, we take a closer look on the laws of evacuation in BRT station. Finally, the simulation provides the details of the dynamic evacuation process clearly; some phenomenon such as bottleneck area and influences of obstacles are directly observed. The results verify the practicability and feasibility of the evacuation model. (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.